Consumer automotive retailing has seen plenty of change over the more than a century that the automobile has been around. Some of the very first automotive transactions in the late 19th century were done by mail order if you can believe it, but it seems some of the most fundamental changes to the way we access and acquire personal automobiles lies just ahead of us and not behind.
Both the advances in personal technology combined with the generations, such as Millennials who grew up in a far different technological era that see technology as a regular part of everyday life are largely behind the changes we are just coming up upon. Car sharing services combined with the continued evolution of autonomous drive technology are about to shake up the industry in ways that have never been seen before. It’s a reality that will be soon upon us, there still is room in the developmental timeline for new retailing ideas.
One such example is a new subscription-based program that has just been launched in Canada by Volvo called CARE by Volvo. Upon learning of this new initiative, I reached out to Volvo Car of Canada to arrange an on-camera interview with their Managing Director to learn more about it, and the following video recap is the result of that request:
Car subscription services are to me, a reality that automakers need to implement into their retail offerings. Volvo may be first off the domestic block with the launch of CARE by Volvo, but given the consumer preferences of younger generations and the diminishing importance that they place on vehicle ownership, my sense is that this hassle-free approach is only going to grow in appeal.
It remains to be seen how fast the other companies realize this and adjust their sales models to adapt in the same way Volvo has here in Canada.
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